Where Things Get Complicated
by Hope Wheeler
Summary: New Chapter Added! Seto Kaiba was completely satisfied with his life, except for occassional interferences from Maximillion Pegasus. But when he meets someone who shares his passion for the Blue Eyes as well as an interest in ancient Egypt . . .
1. Prologue

The girl stopped halfway down an old stairway, timidly looking around the room below. She had followed a man wearing a turban, trying hard not to be noticed. She watched him continue walking away, about to turn the corner into a dark hallway. She turned around and started back up the stairs, then changed her mind. She wasn't going to back out now. The dust was beginning to bother her throat, and she tried unsuccessfully to stifle a cough. The girl ducked behind the stairs as the man stopped, but she breathed out gently when he didn't turn around to look behind him. Just when she was sure he hadn't heard her cough, the man spoke.

"You shouldn't have come here. But like your father, you have a way of being in places where you are not invited. You have come seeking understanding about him," he said, as he stared directly forward in the darkness.

"How did you know . . ." the girl began. She was now standing at the bottom of the stairway, on the verge of bolting back up them.

"You may soon find out, if you have been chosen. Or you may wish you were never born," the turbaned man now turned to face her.

"I know one who wishes that," she said, now feeling more resolve and walking toward him. His face softened, though his voice lost none of its seriousness.

"That I cannot help you with. But you may find something here that can. Now that you have come, you must be tested, just as your father was . . . ."

- - - - - - -

He woke up drenched in sweat and breathing hard as though he had been running cross country the last few hours instead of sleeping. Moaning inwardly, he untangled himself from the silk sheets and crawled out of the bed. It was extremely early in the morning, and the only reason he was awake was because of the dream he had just had. He sighed as he closed the door to his room and turned on the light, feeling strange because he couldn't remember ever dreaming before, at least not that vividly. He had always attributed it to the fact that he only slept for a few hours each night, but this dream, if that was what it had been, had ended that for him, at least for that day.

As he put on a black turtleneck and dress pants, he suddenly became aware of how uncharacteristically he was behaving. _I can't believe I'm actually going to go out and do this because of a dumb dream. Maybe I'm not really awake . . ._ To him, what he had seen in his sleep, seemed more like a vision than just some pointless dream. And it was very unlike his usual logical nature to be thinking that as well.

He was careful to turn out the light before opening the door of his room so that no one else would be bothered by it and woken. He walked down the hallway, out the front door of the house, and onto the street. He knew exactly where he was going, how far to walk, where to turn and which way. But he was completely unfamiliar with any of the streets or alleys that he came to. As he reached his destination, he realized that he was being incredibly unsafe. He reached into the pocket of his pants to retrieve his cell phone before it dawned on him that he had not brought it. _I really am out of it. I'm never this stupid. Better make this quick. If it's not even there . . ._

His hand felt along the brick wall at his eye level. When he didn't feel any of the bricks move, he sighed in relief, that the dream had proven wrong. Until his hand slid forward as the brick he had stopped on shifted a great deal. _Oh, great. _Reluctantly removing the protruding stone from its place with his right hand, he threw a stone in the remaining hole. When he heard nothing except the muffled echo of the stone hitting another brick further back, he reached in with his right hand, feeling around the cavity until he pulled out a slightly dusty thin rod. He frowned as he wiped it off with his sleeve, but then grinned slightly as a thought occurred to him. _If this really works . . ._

Holding the rod out, he willed it to take him back to his room, not really believing it to be possible. Then he disappeared.

Finding himself back in his bed less than a second later, he heard a knock at his door.

"Big brother? You okay?"

"Fine," he mumbled, trying to sound like he normally would instead of as excited as he felt. As his brother turned around, he took out the rod from its hiding place under his pillow and directed it at the young boy's back. With an almost undetectable flash of light, the boy immediately left. A few minutes later he returned with a glass of ice water for him. "Go back to bed," the older brother commanded, releasing the younger one from his trancelike state. He listened for the sound of his brother's door closing, and then holding out the Millennium Rod, he laughed softly to himself, a grin forming on his lips that was much less than pleasant.


	2. Dungeon of Despair

The fun begins . . . in a dungeon? Yeah, I know, just go with it . . . .

* * *

At only eighteen, he was the CEO of one of the largest gaming corporations in the world. He was famous for his holographic technology, and he was a skilled computer hacker. He was a top ranked player of the very popular card game Duel Monsters.

He was in a dungeon cell.

He was tired.

He was cold.

He was hungry.

But most of all, he was annoyed.

The annoying creak of the metal door opening beside Seto Kaiba woke him from a restless sleep. He took a deep breath and shifted to sit up straighter. Having nothing better to do, besides think, he dusted off the back of his long dark purple coat, although he knew it was pointless. Since he had spent hours unsuccessfully racking his brain trying to think of a way out of the dungeon of Pegasus Castle, Kaiba now preferred sleep to dealing with the stress of his situation. Pegasus' goons seemed to be constantly wandering around the dungeon cells, as if afraid he might escape yet again. Kaiba smirked at the thought of the many times he had, if only temporarily, thwarted Pegasus' plans to take over Kaiba Corp. This time would be no different, it was simply a matter of time . . .

"Just don't know when to let things be, do ya?" came the gruff voice of one of Pegasus' men, dressed in the typical black suit and sunglasses. Kaiba sat forward to look, and was surprised to find that the man was, for once, not talking to him, but rather to a new prisoner he seemed to be locking up in the cell next to him. He tried to see who Pegasus' most recent guest was, but the prisoner had already moved to sit in the shadows that hid the back of the cell. He heard someone coming down the stairs. Kaiba hoped it was Pegasus himself; he couldn't wait to give the man a piece of his mind and more. The creep never seemed to give up trying to take over his company. But it wasn't Pegasus approaching, it was another one of those idiot men that worked for him. Kaiba recognized him as Kemo, one of the higher-up goons in Pegasus' chain of command, and the one that he had forced to let him in Pegasus Castle before. The least dependable person among Kaiba's own team of employees was more qualified. _You'd think that someone as wealthy as Pegasus would be able to hire more competent help._ Then again, he'd gone through his own share of irresponsible, worthless employees. The only ones that had even come near to matching his own work ethic eventually attempted to overthrow him. Kemo strode up to the cell next to him and Kaiba turned to watch. The man in sunglasses spoke to the prisoner.

"Mr. Pegasus has asked to see you immediately," he said gruffly, pointing his gun toward the figure huddled in the corner

"If _Mr. Pegasus_ wants to see me, he can come down here himself," the prisoner replied sarcastically as she crossed her arms. "And you shouldn't wave around weapons you have no intention of using." Kaiba was surprised that the prisoner was female and intrigued at her boldness in not complying with Pegasus' demands. Kemo left abruptly, apparently predicting the derailing he would receive upon his return. The other man was about to lock the girl's cell, but he couldn't resist an opportunity to pick on Kaiba before leaving.

"Starting to get used to it here yet, Slim?" he asked in a mocking voice as he turned to look at him, referring to the past times Kaiba had been in the same predicament. Kaiba didn't return his look.

"Yeah, when Pegasus gets up enough nerve to face me, and I own this place too," Kaiba responded, irritation evident in his voice. "Then you'll all be out of a job." The man just laughed, and pushed the door of the girl's cell shut.

"You do a lot of talking for someone locked in a dungeon," she said to him when the suit finally left. Seto laughed.

"You think I plan on staying here? You don't know who I am, do you? I'm a world champion duelist . . ."

"I know a lot about you, Seto Kaiba," she replied interrupting. Suddenly her cell door swung open.

"What? How did you . . ." The girl interrupted him again.

"Your little conversation distracted Rioca long enough that I could stop the door before he shut and locked it. I suppose I should thank you for that," she stepped out of her cell and came to stand in front of his. Seto judged her to be close to same age as him, although the shoulder-length braids her light hair was in made her seem younger. She was wearing jean jacket over a white tank top, and a knee-length black skirt. A stray piece of hair had fallen over her left eye as she stood there with her arms still crossed. Kaiba was in somewhat of a daze. _Wow. Where did she come from? Something about her is so familiar, but . . Who is she?_ A picture was forming in his head, the same vision he had had in his duel with Ishizu back in the Battle City finals. Then he saw that she was holding a bent card.

"You used a duel monsters card to block the door?" The CEO was incredulous. "Are you crazy?" The girl rolled her eyes.

"Maybe, but I certainly don't need you to tell me," she responded. "I'm out, while you're still pathetically sitting in a dark, damp dungeon cell. Besides, I'm sure that you're not one of those fools who believes in 'respecting the cards.'" Kaiba just stared, for once without response, but he was picturing in his mind the time he had actually torn a card in pieces just to keep anyone else from being able to use it. "If you'd rather stay here, I'll just go get your brother and leave." Kaiba jumped up from his seat at the mention of the younger Kaiba. "There's no reason for him to have to suffer for your stubbornness."

"My brother? You know where Mokuba is?" Kaiba was now standing at the front of the cell, holding the metal bars with his hands. "What are you waiting for? Let's go!"

"I see you still do have some sense left after all," she smiled, as she deftly picked the lock of his cell. _Why couldn't I do that when my brother was locked up before?_ Seto frowned.

"It takes special talent," the girl said grimly as if she had heard his thoughts. "And years of practice," she added sarcastically. Kaiba kicked the cell door open and stepped out to join her.

"Let's get out of here before we run out of time and get caught." The other former prisoner turned around to face him.

"It's not a matter of whether we move fast enough. Those suits may be idiots, but if my father doesn't want us to make it out of here, we most likely won't,"

"We'll see about that," Kaiba said as they started walking quickly toward the stairway. Then suddenly he stopped. "Hold on one minute . . .Your father?" He was finally realizing that he knew nothing about this girl he had been about to follow around Pegasus' labyrinth of a dungeon, except that she had to be the most beautiful girl he had ever met. "Who are you? And why are you here?" he demanded. No girl was going to get in the way of his rescuing his brother. Besides, this could easily be just another one of Pegasus' little games to mess with him. The girl sighed, then responded to his questions.

"First question, if you must know, my name is Kirandra Pegasus, and yes, regretfully, I am the daughter of Maximillion Pegasus," she paused as she continued walking. Looking at her now, Kaiba felt foolish for not seeing the resemblance before. "As for your second question, that is a very complicated story, which you might get to hear later _if_ we get out of here. You'll just have to trust me that I can get you and your brother out." Kirandra stopped and looked back over her shoulder at him. "Are you coming?" She began to walk again. Kaiba was standing still, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He couldn't understand why she was helping him. It had to be some kind of trap. And why did she have to be Pegasus' daughter?

"I don't trust anyone. _Especially_ not someone with the last name _Pegasus_. I don't need your help or anyone else's to save my brother." Kirandra shrugged and continued to walk.

"You're a lot like my father, Seto Kaiba. You're just as stubborn." It worked perfectly. Kaiba was sprinting after her in an instant, if only to contradict her last insult. "And you_ were _a world champion duelist," she added once he reached her.

"I'm nothing like that creep!" he argued.

* * *

Please review, or I will send my Blue Eyes White Dragon army after you! 

Seto: WHOSE Blue Eyes Army?

Me: O:o Seto will send his Blue Eyes White Dragon army after you . . . . so review NOW!


	3. Escape from Pegasus Castle

Part 2: Enter Maximillion Pegasus (yes, the American name, because Pegasus J. Crawford makes him sound like a pansy), the creative genius and brilliant artist behind the wonderful game Duel Monsters . . . .

Seto: You've got to be kidding me . . . .Can we just get on with it?

* * *

A short while later, in a significantly more elegantly decorated room of the castle, Maximillion Pegasus sat at a long wooden table, his trademark glass in hand.

"Mr. Pegasus, your daughter seems to have, um, disappeared," said his right hand man Croquet. Had he not been wearing the sunglasses, the fear in his eyes would have been evident. Pegasus rested his left elbow on the table, holding his head with his hand as if he had a headache.

"Surely there is someone I can trick into working for me that won't constantly bother me with details that I am already aware of," he complained. "Considering your complete incompetence, I would have been severely disappointed if she hadn't."

"Well, that's not all . . ." the man continued.

"What?" Pegasus sat up and slammed his glass on the table.

"Um, well . . ."

"Croquet? What is it?"

"She took Seto Kaiba with her." Pegasus grasped his glass so tightly that it broke and the pieces fell to the ground. _If only I still had my Millennium eye_. Croquet and the other man wisely chose to leave. Pegasus slowly relaxed and leaned back in his chair.

"I could still use this for my advantage," Pegasus said out loud to the empty room. _So, Kaiba-boy, you've met my troublesome daughter. It's a shame for you, though - you don't realize that she is simply after your Blue Eyes White Dragons . . ._

- - - - - - - -

"We're almost there," Kirandra said as she and Kaiba finally neared the cell where his younger brother was being held.

"How do you know where he is, anyway?" Kaiba asked her. A strange look came over her face as she paused, as if she was having difficulty deciding what to tell him.

"I was being kept here before they moved me this morning," she responded simply, then led him to a dark cell hidden in the corner.

"Hey, Kira!" exclaimed a short figure standing near the bars of the cell. "You got out?"

"Mokuba! Are you okay?" Kaiba asked urgently, ignoring the fact that his brother hadn't even acknowledged his presence.

"Well, it's about time you got here, Seto," Mokuba said with a tired smile. Kaiba had to admit that he did look fairly well, especially considering the last time he had found Mokuba locked up in Pegasus' Dungeon, Pegasus had somehow, well, taken the spirit right out of him. The teenager was not yet ready to admit that there was, in actuality, real magic involved, but when those men had brought in Mokuba to duel in Pegasus's place, it was not his brother standing in front of him. "I wish Pegasus would leave us alone," the boy complained.

"Don't worry, Mokuba. I'll make sure he can't do anything to us ever again," Kaiba said, clapping an open hand over his fist. He headed for the nearby stairway.

"Where do you think you're going?" Kirandra asked.

"Thanks to your father, I've been here enough times that I know the way out," he said disgustedly as he walked down the stairs. "Come on, Mokuba. Let's get out of here."

"Not so fast, Kaiba." Kaiba, not even turning to acknowledge her, wasn't yet aware that his younger brother was not right behind him.

"You've got to be kidding." Seto laughed. "You didn't really think that I would help you find your stupid cards."

"No, I didn't." Kira replied.

"Seto!" came a weak cry. Kaiba turned to look and saw her standing at the top of a winding stairway, holding Mokuba and pointing a gun at his head.

"I didn't expect you to keep your part of the agreement. You have a reputation for using people, Kaiba."

"My big brother isn't a liar!" insisted Mokuba. Kaiba frowned.

"Fine. But we do it my way," he replied quickly, anxious to get Mokuba out of this new danger.

"Which is?" asked Kirandra, clearly not convinced.

"First, we get out of here," he replied. Kira raised her eyebrows, as if waiting for him to finish so that she could go on with her own plans. "I take Mokuba back to Domino. Then we can come up with a reliable plan to get your deck, if that's what I have to do."

"I suppose I can compromise. But you will come back with me."

"Whatever." Just as Kirandra released Mokuba to return to his brother, Seto saw a young man in a black suit and sunglasses coming up behind her through the shadows. "Let's go, Mokuba!" Before they could turn to leave, the suit was there. The Industrial Illusions employee put his hands on Kira's shoulders as she jumped in surprise. He bent down and picked up the gun that she had dropped on the floor.

"Didn't your father tell you not to play with guns?" He asked, waving the gun in the air. Instantly, a look of relief came over Kirandra's face and she laughed.

"I don't believe he ever said anything about guns that aren't loaded, Duke," she responded, looking pointedly at Kaiba. "But you shouldn't surprise someone you know has a gun anyway."

"Good point." At this point, Seto was completely lost. Mokuba voiced his confusion from his hiding place looking out from behind Seto's coat

"Duke? What are you doing here?" All his older brother cared about was the fact that he and Mokuba could have been back at Kaiba Corp long before if Kira hadn't ruined things demanding they find her Duel Monsters deck first.

"I see you've already met Duke Devlin." Kira commented.

"Yeah, we've met," responded Duke, looking at Seto with disgust.

"Duke, why are you dressed like one of those evil people that works for Pegasus?" Mokuba asked. Devlin shrugged.

"Part of the show."

"My father decided to incorporate his Dungeon Dice Monsters game into production at Industrial Illusions." Kira explained. "He gets paid to work for my father, but he really works for me."

"Dungeon Dice Monsters." Seto shook his head in mock disgust. "Wait – didn't you make Wheeler wear the dog suit?"

"Yeah, well . . ." Duke mumbled as he rubbed the back of his head. Kaiba noted that he seemed slightly ashamed of this revelation.

"What? You feel bad about that or something?" Kaiba smirked. "Wheeler's a loser." Then he muttered, "Wish I'd thought of that."

"Uh, right." Duke handed Kirandra back the gun. He was a little stunned that he was actually having a somewhat a normal conversation with Kaiba. "So, are we on?" Kira looked at Kaiba.

"Change of plans. We're making a slight detour to Kaiba mansion," she replied.

"And how are we going to get there?" Kaiba was already on his cell phone.

"Have a copter here in ten minutes, or you, and everyone under you, will lose your jobs. Or worse than that - depending on how late you are." He snapped the phone shut and put it back into his pocket.

* * *

End of Chapter 2: Please leave me a review and tell me what you think! Constructive criticism and flames welcomed! 


	4. A Mission, A Challenge

Chapter 3: A Mission, A Challenge (Mission: Impossible theme song playing in the background). Hope you enjoy!

* * *

A few hours later, at Kaiba Mansion . . . .

Kaiba sat at his desk, working on his computer. He was checking the Kaiba Corp stocks while modifying a computer version of a dueling system he had recently redesigned. A few people had the gall to complain that the current model was too heavy to be truly portable. Kirandra stood next to the large window behind him, looking out over the city of Domino. Mokuba, as always, stood right next to his brother, watching the computer screen from over his shoulder. Duke was pacing in front Kaiba's desk.

"I still don't see that there is any good reason for me to help you," Seto was saying. "If you want to get your own cards, then do it. It's not my concern." Devlin could hold in his anger no longer, and he snapped at Kaiba.

"What's wrong with you, Kaiba? If it wasn't for Kira, you and your brother would still be locked up in that dungeon. She got both of you out of there, and you promised to help her." Devlin stood directly in front of Kaiba, and pushed aside the CEO's laptop as he spoke, so they were face-to-face. This was the Seto Kaiba he was used to seeing when he was with Yugi and his other friends. Kaiba glared at him angrily.

"Sue me," he responded evenly, pulling his computer back in front of him. "But before you do that, leave. I don't have time for this."

"Jerk." Kaiba rolled his eyes.

"Seto," Mokuba said cautiously. "I kinda think you should help . . ."

"Stay out of this, Mokuba," his older brother growled. The boy back away, looking very disappointed.

"Alright, how about this? You and Kira duel. If she wins, then you help us get her deck," Devlin suggested.

"And _when_ I win, you stop bothering me," Kaiba added.

"Exactly."

"Excuse me, gentlemen," Kira turned away from the window to face them. "But what part of _I don't have my deck_ do you not understand?"

"Oh, yeah," Duke muttered sheepishly, as he moved toward the window. Kaiba went back to his work on the laptop. Kira walked around the desk to stand in front of him.

"Listen up, Kaiba. Listen well, and I will make it worth your time," she said. "If you help me now, _like you promised, _then I will duel you. The winner gets the loser's most valuable card." She had caught Kaiba's attention. As Pegasus' daughter, she was sure to have some rare and powerful cards. And he knew that he could defeat her, there would be no challenge there. Then again, she could be bluffing.

"I doubt you have anything that would interest me," he replied without looking up. The situation now reminded him of the incident with Ishizu Ishtar and the Egyptian God Card she had given him, Obelisk the Tormentor. That certainly hadn't worked out the way he planned.

"You be the judge," Kira responded, pulling a card out of the pocket of her jacket and held it front of his computer screen.

"I thought you didn't have your cards," he smirked.

"I kept this one separate," she replied. Seto again went back to his computer.

"It's just a lame Dark Magician Girl Card. Big deal."

"You don't know your cards very well. It is a Magician Girl Card, but this Magician Girl has a special ability – she's the Dragon Tamer Dark Magician Girl. She gains 200 attack points for every dragon card on the field with her, and she adds 600 points to the attack power of each dragon." Kira could tell he was very interested now, but her next statement would completely seal it. "But this girl works best with one particular dragon, which she adds 900 attack points to. And if you happen to have three of them combined, well, let's just say that even Exodia can't defeat the Dragon Tamer Dark Magician Girl if she is teamed up with the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon." Seto was ready to duel on the spot, and his mind was reeling. _If I have that card, I could easily defeat that little pest Yugi, and gain back my title once and for all. _

"I'm in," he replied. Duke sighed loudly.

"I have a plan. What if Kira and I go after the cards, while you keep Pegasus busy," he suggested. "I'm sure the two of us can take care of the rest of his goons." Duke added optimistically.

"Great plan," Kaiba said dully. "Just what do you expect me to do to distract Pegasus?" Duke was now looking at the prototype of Kaiba's latest dueling disk holographic projector.

"I'm sure you'll come up with something." Seto got the message.

"No," he said immediately, as he crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair. "No way. I'm not going to waste my time dueling that creep."

"Well, if you're that worried about being defeated by him again . . ." Kira began.

"What? I'm not . . ."

"You can leave as soon as we find the card deck. Just tell him you'll finish the duel later."

"Easy for you to say. You're not the one who's supposed to duel him." She didn't reply to his remark. Mokuba, who had been standing in the corner feeling very ignored, took the break in conversation as his chance to speak up.

"Uh . . .Seto? I guess this means we're not finishing KaibaLand . . ." he asked timidly. Kaiba frowned at the space in front of him, not wanting to look his brother in the face.

"Not today, apparently," the older brother answered, glaring at Duke and Kira. "This won't take long," he added with emphasis, hoping that they would get the point. "I've got real work to do. And a company to run." Kira rolled her eyes at his arrogance as Mokuba moved back over to his brother's side, resting his hand on the arm of the chair.

"What do I get to do? I want to go with you!" Mokuba insisted. Duke laughed.

"What are you going to do, kid? Get yourself caught by one of those suits so your big brother has to rescue you _again_?" he teased. Kaiba suddenly stood, turning on him and raising his fisted hand.

"Don't you EVER talk to Mokuba that way, or I _will _take you down, Pony-tail boy." Duke turned slightly red and opened his mouth to say something in reply, but then he changed his mind and took a step back away from Kaiba, gritting his teeth in anger. The Kaiba Corp CEO smirked. "You'd better back away," he continued, then paused. "I'll bet Mokuba knows more than you do." He then turned to his younger brother.

"Please, Seto! I really want to help!" the twelve-year old's eyes pleaded with him. "Don't go to that horrible place and leave me here alone, Seto. I'd rather be there than here without you." His older brother smiled silently. _Not going to work this time, kiddo._

"Mokuba, I really need you here to oversee things from the main computer room."

"I could help, really! I won't get in the way, I promise."

"I'm sorry, Mokuba. But you'd better stay here." The young boy's face showed his disappointment.

"Okay, big brother." Mokuba replied dutifully. Then he brightened with an excited smile. "Hey, Seto! Do we get to have cool codenames, too?" he asked enthusiastically. His brother was nonchalant, simply desiring for the entire situation to be resolved so that he could get on with running his company and getting back at Pegasus.

"Whatever." He shrugged.

"Probably a good idea to use codenames, just as an extra precaution. We can keep in communication, in case _one_ of us gets discovered or trapped." Duke stated, looking pointedly at Seto, who glared at him, then went back to his computer. "Okay, so Kaiba, yours will be . . .hmm . . ."

"White Dragon." Kira quietly suggested. Seto wouldn't admit it, but he was actually starting to warm to the idea now. Who wouldn't like the codename "White Dragon" anyway?

"And Kira, you'll be Magician Girl." Duke continued. She simply nodded. Now Kaiba was intrigued.

"Why is that her codename?" he asked.

"You don't know?" Now it was Duke's turn to shake his head. "He's kind of slow, isn't he?" he commented to Kira. She eyed Devlin warily, shaking her head slightly, as if she didn't want him to tell Kaiba. "You've seen the Dark Magician Girl Duel Monster Card, right? I'm pretty sure Yugi has one . . ." Seto nodded, scowling at the mention of his rival.

"So?" Devlin laughed.

"Do I have to spell it out for you? There's a story behind every card, some of them historical, some legend, and some Pegasus just came up with on his own. But he had a specific reason for each card he chose to make. She was his inspiration for the Dark Magician Girl Card," he explained, nodding toward Kira, who was now staring idly at the ground. Seto's eyebrows rose at this, but he said nothing. "Let's see . . we don't have to worry about sneaking into Pegasus Castle. You'll have to call Pegasus and set up the duel," he continued, speaking to Kaiba. "Kira and I will take my car." Seto wanted to ask what type of car Duke could afford to own, but he refrained. _I have to win that card. If I'm going to duel that creep again, it had better be worth it._

_

* * *

_So . . . the codenames thing is a little out of character for Kaiba, but it was Mokuba's idea. Hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did - please leave a review and let me know!


	5. Mission Improbable

Chapter 4: And here it comes - the very first duel of the story! (You knew it was coming, didn't you? Such smart readers!)

* * *

Arriving at Pegasus Castle in a Kaiba Corp helicopter, Seto was greeted by Pegasus' right hand man, Croquet.

"Mr. Pegasus is waiting for you. Follow me," the suited man commanded.

"Great." He muttered under his breath. "I can't wait." As he walked behind Croquet, he realized that in a way, he was actually looking forward to this duel. He could just imagine how good it would feel to crush Pegasus at his own game, sending each one of those ridiculous toon monsters of his to the graveyard. Where they belonged. _I hate toons. Especially when he turns my Blue Eyes White Dragon into a toon._ Seto smiled grimly. He was prepared for this – Pegasus and his little tricks didn't stand a chance this time. And defeating him could only improve his somewhat slighted reputation as a duelist.

- - - - - - - - -

"Okay, we'd better do this quick, so that we don't get Kaiba even more upset with us," Duke commented. Kira rolled her eyes.

"I could care less about what he thinks, the egotistical jerk!" Duke laughed at her outburst.

"And it took you how long to figure that out?" he asked sarcastically. "It's not personal. Kaiba's like that toward everyone. Some people you can always depend on to serve themselves, no matter who else it hurts."

"Come on, Duke. Let's just get those cards and get out of here."

"Alright," Duke replied. "Here, put these on." He handed her a pair of very dark sunglasses. "I was able to find out from Pegasus' database that your cards are somewhere in the dungeon, but fortunately for us, they're surprisingly not too heavily guarded. I have a good idea of where they are from Kaiba's surveillance system of Pegasus Castle. He may be a jerk, but he's a genius computer hacker. I still can't figure out how he set that up."

- - - - - - - - -

"Ahh, Kaiba-boy. It's been a long time, too long," Pegasus greeted. "I must admit, I was surprised when you called. Did you miss me and my little toon kingdom?"

"Can we just duel already?" Kaiba asked impatiently.

"Yes, of course. That is why we are here, isn't it? A rematch between the creator and the champion. Does my little arena look familiar to you, Kaiba-boy?" It had not escaped Seto's notice that they were standing across from each in other in the same dueling arena that had staged the Duelist Kingdom Finals, and Pegasus' defeat of the young CEO. The whole scene also reminded him of a more recent duel, against a strange guy name Alistair, who had pretended to be Pegasus, simply to get Seto to duel him. He didn't respond to Pegasus' question, but simply frowned. "What's wrong, Kaiba-boy? You're not . . .mad . . .at me, are you?" Kaiba closed his eyes to shut out the anger he felt.

"What do you expect? Am I supposed to just forget all that you pulled trying to take over my company and messing with my little brother?" He was seething with anger now. Pegasus smiled. Getting Seto Kaiba upset was fairly easy, and now his concentration would be off for the duel. Besides that, it was just fun.

"I see you didn't bring your little brother along. I'm surprised that after losing him before, you still don't keep better track of him, Kaiba-boy," Pegasus continued in a sickeningly sweet voice. Seto glared at him, but didn't acknowledge his comments.

"Let's get this over with!"

"Why, Kaiba-boy, Duel Monsters is a game. It's not a chore," Pegasus feigned being hurt. As he tried to regain his composure, Kaiba wished he could tell the game's creator exactly how he felt about his messed up hocus-pocus version of dueling. "Duel Monsters is supposed to be fun – just a nice game between old friends."

"Whatever."

"Hope you're ready for some cartoon fun this afternoon, Kaiba-boy. My adorable little toons can't wait to come out and play." Kaiba frowned and stopped paying attention to what he was saying. _Here we go again – Pegasus going nuts over these stupid toons. This guy really needs help. He's definitely too old to be watching cartoons. I wonder how old he is anyway. . . _

"I hope you're ready to watch your dumb toons get eaten by my Blue Eyes White Dragon." Pegasus' expression became suddenly more serious.

"Let's duel." The two said in unison.

"Alright, Seto, time to show that creep how a real duelist plays!" Mokuba said into Seto's headphones. His older brother smirked. This should be interesting, if nothing else. On the other side of the arena, Pegasus was also thinking, but not about strategy._ I wonder what Kaiba-boy is up to . . ._

"This is my arena, so I will make the first move. I place one card face down, and end my turn. Your move, Kaiba-boy." And the duel was on.

- - - - - - - - -

"Okay, you have to make a right turn, and then they should be in the next room. No one's coming, so you're in the clear."

"Thanks, Mokuba," Duke responded into his tiny communicator on his collar. They made the right turn and found themselves in a small room. There was a stone table with a glass cover in the center of the room, small torches lined the walls, but gave off little light. "Low tech security, huh?"

"Don't be so sure." Stepping in front of him, Kira picked up some dirt from the ground and threw it into the room. Immediately partial strands of the red laser beams that turned the small room into a maze became visible, then vanished just as quickly.

"Wasn't expecting that," said Duke, rubbing the back of his head.

"You may have been here a while, but there are still some things about my father that I know better than you."

"Guys, we've got a slight problem. I think Pegasus suspects something . . ." Mokuba said anxiously.

"What is it, Mokuba?" Duke asked urgently.

"Croquet is heading toward the left hallway. What's holding you guys up?" the boy asked.

"Lasers surrounding the deck."

"Urgh," Mokuba responded. "That's not good. We've got to come up with something quick!"

"Wait!" Kirandra exclaimed. "It's too obvious."

"What is?" Duke asked. If it was a way to get to the cards, with Pegasus' right hand man on their trail, this wasn't the time to play guessing games.

"The cards aren't here." Duke was confused and slightly irritated with her.

"And why aren't they? It looks to me like they are right there on the table, if we could get to them . . ."

"They can't be there, because that's where anyone would expect them to be."

"Umm . . . .Not following . . ."

"Oh, just come with me, I have a hunch." Kira grabbed his arm and started dragging him off back in the direction they came.

"Okay," Devlin sighed, shaking his head.

- - - - - - - - -

Kaiba was feeling slightly nervous about the outcome of the duel now. His Battle Ox and Reyukashin stood on the field defending his 2300 life points. He was still ahead of Pegasus, though only by 500. He had been baiting Pegasus for nearly the entire match, but the game's creator still had not put his Toon World card into play. Pegasus' Deranged Rabbit stood on the opposite end of the field, making a joke out of the seriousness he took in dueling. Seto desperately wanted to attack – either of his monsters had enough attack points to send that mockery of a Duel Monster to the graveyard, but one thing was holding him back - Pegasus' face down card. Kaiba looked at the cards in his hand. He had drawn two of his Blue Eyes White Dragons, Polymerization, and his Crush Card. Pegasus' Rabbit had just sent La Jinn to the graveyard, so it was his turn. _Hopefully this next card will help me determine my next move._ He drew swiftly, then looked down at the card. _I hope Kira and Duke have that deck already. This duel could end very soon._ "I play Wingbeat of Dragon! Your trap card is gone, Pegasus." Kaiba laughed. Next he would take down that annoying rabbit, and then wait, hopefully not long, until he drew his third Blue Eyes. Then it would all be over.

"Nice try, Kaiba-boy," Pegasus grinned, looking much like a child at Christmas. "A rather predictable move for you – very practical. But this facedown card isn't a trap card. It was my Parrot Dragon."

"What? No!" Kaiba did some rapid calculating and soon realized the consequences of this.

"Get ready to say goodbye to your Battle Ox, Kaiba! Parrot Dragon, attack his monster!"

- - - - - - - - -

"And I suppose you're going to tell me that he hid them in his television?" Duke nearly exploded while trying to maintain a whisper. He and Kira were standing in what looked like the play room of a young child. In the back of the room was the largest television Duke had ever seen. There were stuffed animal versions of various cartoon characters, including an extra large Funny Bunny, and another that looked strangely like a demented form of the Blue Eyes White Dragon.

"Not in the tv, Duke. But they're here somewhere. One of his little tricks. He never can do things the way he's expected to. Everything is a game to him," Kira replied thoughtfully. She slowly surveyed the room. _It has to be here somewhere. _Then she turned back to the Blue Eyes. "Duke, do you have a knife on you?"

"Well, yeah," Duke replied, pulling it out. "But I don't see . . ." Before he could finish, she had taken it from him and was be-heading the stuffed dragon.

"What are you doing? Oh, man, is your father going to kill you!"

"Cute, Duke. He would if I gave him half a chance, I'm sure," she responded, holding up a deck of Duel Monsters cards for him to see as she tossed the head of the Blue Eyes White Dragon on the floor. "Now let's get out of here."

"How did you know they were there?" Duke was incredulous.

"Call it a lucky guess," Kira shrugged, but he didn't quite believe she was telling the truth.

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Smart readers are nice and review stories so that writers can make them even better! So please review! 


	6. Strange Encounters

Chapter 5 - And I'm warning you now - this is where the story starts to get a little strange . . .

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"Seto – time to end your duel. We've got the deck."

"You're kidding," Seto replied to his brother's announcement through the communicator on his collar.

"Problems at the ol' company, Kaiba-boy?" Pegasus asked. "Perhaps it takes someone older and more mature to run a business, hmmm?"

"I would hardly consider Industrial Illusions a real company," the younger duelist retorted, not adding his thoughts about the maturity aspect of Pegasus' comment. "But something has come up, and I must take care of it immediately." Pegasus looked disappointed.

"But we haven't finished our duel! I haven't even had a chance to play Toon World!" Seto would have smirked, but decided against it. _ No sense in making this creep angry on my way out._

"We'll finish it later," he responded as he walked away.

"Yes, we will," Pegasus said to the empty room. _And I didn't even miss my favorite cartoon._

- - - - - - - -

On their way to the planned meeting place, Duke and Kira ran into one of Pegasus' employees.

"Oh, great," Kira sighed, becoming very tense.

"Don't worry," said Duke, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Let me take care of it."

"Hey, Devlin!" the suited man called out. "How are the dungeons doing today?"

"Dungeons are just fine," replied Duke, chuckling nervously. He and Kira kept on walking as the man passed, hoping that he wouldn't say anything about Kira.

"Who's your friend?" Duke stopped short, then slowly turned around to face him. Kira stayed where she was.

"Girlfriend," he finally replied. "She wanted to see where I worked now, so I'm giving her a little tour."

"Girlfriend, huh?" the man repeated, slightly suspicious. "Shy one. She's pretty cute."

"Uh, thanks," said Duke, and the man disappeared around the corner. Duke rejoined Kira in time to see her shiver. "Has you father always had such creepy guys working for him?" Kira shook her head silently. Duke could tell that she wasn't going volunteer an explanation and he decided not to press her. "At least the difficult part of this little mission is over, right?" he said, referring to the deck of cards she now held in her hands. He spoke into his mouthpiece. "We've found the White Dragon." He had just spotted Kaiba as they turned into the main hallway. Duke and Kira joined him.

"Okay, you two get out of here. I've got to get to working." Duke headed toward the hallway leading to his small office. "That's a strong deck you've got, Kira," he added. _Right, _Seto thought._ As if he would know – he's only been dueling for what, a year? _He and Kira started for the main entrance of the castle, according to plan.

"Copter is already in position, White Dragon." Kaiba heard Mokuba say through his headphones.

"We're on our way," he replied. Kira had a sudden inspiration

"Hey, come in here a minute," Kira said and she took off down a side hallway and into a spacious room.

"Where are you going?" Kaiba asked incredulously. He followed her into the hall where the only furniture was an elongated table and a tall wooden chair. Kira sat down in the chair and looked around.

"I bet he still spends all of his time in here, at least while he's not watching cartoons." Kaiba was looking around rather nervously. He wanted to spend the least amount of time in the creep's mansion as possible.

"We'd better get out of here."

"What are you worried about? You have a valid reason to be here." Taking down her hair, so that it fell in front of her left eye, Kira crossed her legs and picked up Pegasus' glass of wine.

"He must have been really anxious to duel you. Left everything just like it was in here," Kira observed.

"Dare you to drink it . . ." Kaiba reverted back to the days back in the orphanage where life was composed of such challenges from the other children.

"What? You don't think I would?" Kira laughed. "Wonder if it's even real . . ." She lifted the glass to her lips and was about to taste it herself when Kaiba walked over toward her.

"Kira!" he exclaimed, even though he was laughing in spite of himself. Taking her arm, he grabbed the glass out of her hand and placed it back on the table. _Wish I had some iocane . . ._

"What?" Kira asked, feigning innocence.

"You're crazy," he grinned as he dragged her toward the door.

- - - - - - - - -

"Not my Blue Eyes Toon Dragon!" Pegasus was standing in the middle of the room, holding the two pieces of the stuffed creature in his hands. Then he shrugged, letting the destroyed toy fall to the floor. _She is mostly definitely my daughter . . .She already has Seto Kaiba doing her bidding . . ._

- - - - - - - - -

Seto and Kirandra sat across from each other in the back of the Kaiba Corp helicopter. Kira sat facing the rear, as if watching Pegasus Castle disappear through the back wall of the plane. He was the first to speak.

"How long has it since you actually dueled with that deck?" As her head dropped down, her hair fell over her face so that he couldn't see her expression.

"The last time I finished a duel was about five years ago," she finally answered without looking up. "But if you're wondering, I've been able to keep up with all of the new rules, and cards . . . mostly because of Duke." Seto smiled to himself. She wouldn't be a challenge for him – every week, he practiced new strategies and card combinations against his duel-simulator program in his laboratory at Kaiba Corp.

"I was actually more interested in seeing the cards you have in that deck," he responded honestly. "I just assumed that you already had my deck memorized."

"Don't flatter yourself. You're not worried about our duel, are you?" She looked up, smirking at him. Seto scoffed.

"Not a bit. That Dark Magician Girl is practically mine already." Kira didn't respond, but smiled to herself. It was so simple to get him on the defensive. "So what happened with you and your father?" Her head went back down toward her lap and her deck.

"As if you really care." She replied in a low voice, as she turned away from him to look at her cards. Seto said nothing after that, but for some reason, her last remark refused to leave his mind.

"You're right. I don't. Sorry I asked," he muttered. But he wasn't so sure himself. Suddenly the sides of the plane morphed into walls of dusty stone. _I must be dreaming. _Then he was running, running without reason through a dark ancient hallway. He came into a mostly bare room, lit only by two torches suspended on opposite walls. "WHAT. . . ARE . . . YOU . . . DOING?" The voice, speaking through heavy breaths, was his own, but the words certainly were not. Before him, an older man dressed in the robes of an Egyptian priest hovered over the still form of a young woman shackled to a stone table that rose waist level from the ground. As the priest turned to face him, the sharp knife he held reflected the fire from the wall. The light danced in his eyes, and, added to exuberant smile on his face, it gave a shuddering eerie feel. He came toward Seto, the knife still raised.

"Oh, excellent. You made it. I've finally found a way to make you more powerful than your cousin, Atem. Now you will be the rightful pharaoh, Set! It's time!" The priest tried to hand him the knife, and he soon realized what was expected of him.

"No, I can't! I have to tell you . . . ."

"You are weak, Set! And the pharaoh of Egypt must be strong. But I can help you be stronger!"

"Wait! You don't understand!" Again, Seto heard himself speak in protest, before he could even interrupt and ask who Set was. A piercing light shone from the priest's left eye, which appeared to be made entirely of gold. Seto recognized it from his Duelist Kingdom battle with the creator of Duel Monsters. _Pegasus' Millenium Eye! _Now the knife was in his hand, and he began walking toward the stone table, feeling as though he were being controlled by a completely outside force. _No, wait! What am I doing? _ Seto watched helplessly as he himself administered the lethal strike. Even when the tip of the knife's blade first pierced her, the pale-skinned woman did not cry out. Seto suddenly felt different, as if he was back in control of his actions, at least partially.

"You," he pointed, turning back to the priest. "You did this!"

"No, my son," the man replied grimly. "You did." He pointed to the blood-stained knife that Seto still held in his hand. As the weapon slipped out of his grip, the blade cut across the palm of his hand leaving a streak of red. "You killed her."

"No!" Seto ran back to the table and released the young woman from her bonds. But it was of no use – it was already done. "Kisara!" He held her dying form to his chest with one arm, with the other he tore his cape and wrapped it around her. Her eyes closed in pain and he felt her body go limp in his arms. "No!"

"Set," she whispered, almost imperceptibly. He leaned his head down closer to her. "It's okay. This is not the end."

"But I didn't mean . . ." Then he felt the shallow breaths stop. Her calm voice echoed in his mind as he stood there holding her. "It's okay. It's okay. It's . . ."

"Are you okay?" Slowly the stone walls became the inside of a helicopter as Seto's head snapped up at the sound of Kira's voice.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, fine." He muttered, putting his head back down. _Must've been dreaming_. Such a strange dream, and it was almost like that vision or whatever it was that he had when he dueled Ishizu in the Battle City finals. This was all her fault. Ever since he had gone to that museum to see those stones . . . Seto found himself staring at the diagonal dark red line that had marred his hand for as long as he could remember. Suddenly placing his hand face down on the seat beside him, he looked guiltily back up at Kira, who was staring at him strangely. Then realization set in. _That girl – Kisara – looked just like . ._ . no, that was ridiculous. His imagination was working overtime. It was just a dream, after all. . _. I've been working too much. I really need to get more sleep. . ._

_

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_Okay, y'all know the drill now. Review the chapter and let me know if it was too confusing for you to follow! Cheers!


	7. Battle for the Blue Eyes Part I

Here it is, Kira vs. Kaiba, with one of Seto's precious Blue Eyes White Dragons on the line!

* * *

The two duelists stood across from each other on the top of the newly rebuilt Alcatraz Dueling Tower. Seto hadn't planned to use the tower so soon after the last Battle City Tournament, but he was glad that he had finished having it built (only after several months and the firing several incompetent contractors). He wasn't planning to hold another tournament, not for a while anyway. From his vantage point, Kaiba could see everything he had worked so hard to obtain and build in a short time. On his left, the gleaming glass tower of Kaiba Corp rose out of the center of the surrounding buildings. To his right, the promising signs of the construction of KaibaLand were evident. The young CEO smiled to himself, then looked out in front of him, at the sky. The Dueling Tower. It was his favorite arena for dueling. He loved the way it made him feel to be up there – powerful, invincible, in control. Things he hadn't felt when he was younger, trying to protect his little brother at the orphanage and then trying to stand up to Gozaburo. But now he had the control and the power. Alcatraz and the expanded KaibaLand were proof of that. Kaiba adjusted the duel disk system on his left wrist_. Just love the way the bottom of my coat blows in the wind up here . . ._

"Are we going to actually duel, or do we all have to just stand here while you daydream?" Kira asked from the other side of the arena. Duke, who had come to watch the duel, stood nearby, looking rather uneasy as he gazed around.

"Yeah! Let's go, Seto!" Cheered Mokuba, standing on his brother's side of the field. "Good luck, Kira! You're going to need it if you think you can beat my big brother!" She smiled and waved at him in appreciation. In spite of his brother's overly obvious apprehension, Mokuba liked Kira a lot, but as always his loyalty remained with Seto.

"Just get it over with fast, Kira," Duke whispered loudly enough for both of the Kaiba brothers to hear.

"Time to duel!" Kira simply nodded in agreement as they both drew six cards. "My field, so for my first move, I place this face down, and summon Sword Stalker to the field. Your move."

"Then I place one card on the field face down, and end my turn." Seto stared at his cards, trying to determine his next move. _ I wish I knew what that card was . . . I'll just have to risk an attack._

"I summon a new monster to the field – the Rude Kaiser! Now I have two monsters, while you have none to defend yourself. Rude Kaiser! Attack her life points directly with fore-arm slash!"

"Activate Mirror Force trap card! Destroy his monster!" Seto shielded his eyes with his right arm as his Rude Kaiser shattered and then disappeared. _So it had been a trap card. Straightforward move. _Would her entire strategy be this obvious?He lowered his arm and started to laugh Kira's smile faded when she heard him.

"So you stopped my Rude Kaiser. Minor loss for me. But because you destroyed that weaker monster, my Sword Stalker gets twenty percent more attack points. It's your turn." Kira frowned slightly in response, but said nothing as she studied the cards in her hand. "What's the matter? Don't have anything good enough to play? You're not giving up already, are you?" Seto mocked.

"Unlike most of your past opponents, I'm not that easy to defeat, Kaiba," his opponent warned calmly. She placed another card face down on her disk, and it immediately appeared on the field. Seto was still trying to figure out her strategy, though she didn't seem to have one. _I'll bet anything it's a monster this time._ Same maneuver Pegasus made earlier. "One card face down, and I summon my Tri-horned Dragon to the field in defense." A powerful monster by most standards, but just one of his Blue Eyes Dragons would wipe the floor with the creature. What he didn't understand was why she didn't attack him. Even with the power boost he had just received from the destruction of the Rude Kaiser, his Sword Stalker was a much weaker monster than the dragon Kira had just summoned. She could easily send him to graveyard, leaving only his face down cards standing in defense of his life points. There had to be some unusual strategy involved, but what was it? "Your move_." She won't expect me to attack the face down card._ The CEO smirked.

"Then I will summon Versago the Destroyer to the field," he announced as the placed the card face down on his disc. And now I will attack! Sword Stalker, attack her face down card with vengeance strike!" Suddenly, Kira's Freed the Brave Warrior was revealed, only to be destroyed by the Sword Stalker's attack. She _really is crazy if she thought I was going to attack that dragon. _Kira smiled broadly as her life points dropped 600 points down to 3400. _Yes._ Kaiba had played right into her hand. Kaiba was still at 4000, and couldn't understand why she was still smiling_. If I'm going to win this, I have to figure out her strategy!_

"My move. First, I will summon Silent Swordsman to the field. Then, playing my magic card Cross Soul I will sacrifice your Sword Stalker along with my Swordsman and 1000 of my life points." _What is she doing? She can't hardly afford to lose so many life points so early in the duel!_ "And now all of your monsters go to the graveyard as well."

"WHAT? No, you can't do that!" Seto protested as Versago also disappeared, along with his face down card. Then his life points dropped by 2400 points.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. This special summon means that you lose 300 life points for every card on the field and in your hand, while we both have to discard all cards in our hand and draw five new ones." Kira took a deep breath and brushed a piece of hair off of her face. Dueling was work, but it was good to be back. The look on Seto's face was enough to scare his own brother into moving away. "And now my monster will be revealed! Chaos Emperor Dragon come forth!" The monster that appeared was the largest single dragon Seto had ever seen in all of his years dueling.

"Wow." Mokuba breathed. Seto looked down at him.

"Just another monster for me to destroy." He stated, but he was incredulous at how quickly his life points had dropped down to 1600 with one very creative move by Kira. His strategy would be slightly delayed, since he had already had one Blue Eyes Dragon in his hand, but now had none. _And I played just the way she needed me to._

"I will place one card face down on the field and then summon the Tri-horned Dragon back to the field. Because I special summoned Chaos Emperor Dragon, he cannot attack this round, but that hardly matters since you now have no monsters on the field." Kira grinned_. Just wait until you see the rest of what I have planned . . ._

"That's what I'm talking about!" Duke shouted. "In your face, Kaiba!"

"This duel isn't over yet!" Seto yelled in response, then frowned at his own outburst. "I never lose, today's no exception." Kira smirked at his attempt to maintain the appearance of control. _But it's close to being finished._

_

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_That's it for now, end of the duel in the next chapter. so will Kaiba win like usual, or does Kirastill have some moves to turn it her way? Let me know what you think! And thanks to everyone who reviews!_  
_


	8. Battle for the Blue Eyes Part II

Here it is - the not so long-awaited finish to the duel between Kaiba and Kira. I wonder who will win . . . .Read and find out!

* * *

"This duel isn't over yet!" Seto yelled in response, then frowned at his own outburst. "I never lose, today's no exception." Kira smirked at his attempt to maintain the appearance of control. _But it's close to being finished._

"You_ never_ lose? Sounds like a certain CEO has an extreme case of selective memory," Kira taunted. "Does the name Exodia bring anything to mind?" At her mention of his particularly disgraceful loss to Yugi Motou, Kaiba made a low sound like a growl. He would never be allowed to forget that defeat, regardless of how many victories he gained since. "If you had half a mind, you wouldn't have had the daring to mention that," he continued, in a disturbingly calm tone. "My turn now." _Okay, what am I going to do?_ The outward calm he always tried to show in dueling situations was a desperate attempt to mask the inadequateness he often felt as well as his fear and hatred of learning. His overall strategy, as in every duel, was to summon all three Blue Eyes Dragons and then fuse them to form the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon. But while he was waiting to draw them, there was a way to get rid of that monster. . .

"Waiting for some kind of supernatural revelation or what?" Kira asked in feigned impatience. She had heard that it was very possible to unnerve him and thereby weaken his concentration and dueling. Seto, who had by now guessed this aspect of her strategy, decided to respond by completely ignoring the comment.

"I summon Reyukashin to the field!" As the weak monster appeared, he placed another card face down. "My turn is finished."

"Then I place one card face down. Now, Tri-horned Dragon attack Reyukashin!" Kaiba hadn't expected this, instead he thought she would have attacked with her Chaos Dragon right away. But he was still, as always, prepared for whatever.

"I activate the magic card Negate Attack!" Kira's dragon moved back into defensive position. "You can't attack a second time, so now it's my move. I summon X-head Cannon to the field, and place one more card face down and end my turn." Kira had been waiting for his infamous Blue Eyes to appear, but it hadn't come yet. She had figured that he started out with one in the beginning, and now it seemed that she had been correct_. I guess I will just have to attack again, although it seems that is what he wants me to do._

"Tri-horned Dragon, attack Reyukashin again!" Perfect. Kaiba grinned. Just what he needed. Reyukashin shattered then disappeared. Seto laughed out loud as Kira's dragon started to fade.

"I infected my Reyukashin with Crush Card. When your Tri-horned Dragon attacked, he was infected, along with the rest of your monsters on the field and in your hand." He stopped laughing suddenly, because her Chaos Dragon remained on the field, seemingly unaffected by the Crush Card disease.

"It looks like my monster is too strong for your little spell card, Kaiba."

"It appears that you may be right. But I wonder," he began in that annoying lazy tone he sometimes affected. "If your little dragon is strong enough for my next move. I sacrifice my Paladin of White Dragon Card to summon the Blue Eyes White Dragon! Now, my Blue Eyes, attack her Chaos Emperor Dragon!" Kira's powerful monster was destroyed by the greater dragon, and she lost a minor 200 life points from the attack. Down to 2200 life points, she still had more than Seto. Still, he was feeling much more confident now that the duel was beginning to move swiftly in his direction.

"Alright, Seto!" Mokuba shouted.

"Give it up, you can't win. You're dueling a Pegasus." Duke countered.

"Watch me." Seto replied with a sneer. "I will win, and no one is going to stop me."

"Someone's got issues." Duke muttered.

"What was that you said about Exodia?" Seto challenged.

"I'd tell you that pride comes before a fall, but I have a feeling that you're already too full of yourself to have room for any wisdom." Seto smiled condescendingly at her reply.

"Wisdom? That's what people say they're after when they're too pathetic to have anything else. Prepare to lose." _One more card to go. All she has left are weaker monsters which will be completely useless now. If I just draw my last dragon, she's finished_

"Not yet, Kaiba. It's my turn now." Kira still had one card face down. Drawing another to add to her now decimated hand of cards, she chose a different card to play. "I activate the trap card Dian Keto, the Cure Master, which will add 1000 life points to my total and end my turn." Seto grinned. If she had been depending on one powerful monster to carry her through the duel, then she was a more pathetic duelist than he had expected.

"My move. And now I will summon my last two dragons to the field. Come forth, my Blue Eyes Dragons!" The two powerful dragons appeared on either side of the one hovering over Seto's end of the field. "Now I will use the magic card Polymerization to fuse my three dragons into the ultimate monster. A beast that has no equal, the terror of the Duel Monsters world. Now welcome to the field the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" As the monsters combined to form Seto's infamous three-headed beast, the CEO laughed. While Kira had stripped him of most of his life points early in the duel, his victory was certain now. Nothing she had could possibly match the attack strength of the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon. "Now my dragon, attack her life points!" Kira stepped back, using the duel disk on her arm as a shield against the attack, but the force still nearly caused her to lose her balance. Laughing as her points drop to a meager 800, Seto felt relieved that the duel was all but over. He wouldn't admit it to anyone of course, but Kira was a good duelist, and for a while, he had thought that she might possibly defeat him. "If you were depending on luck to win like your father, then it looks like yours just ran out."

"Go, Big Brother!" Mokuba shouted. "I knew you would win!"

"This duel is not over. You see, Kaiba, my father always thought that it was better to be lucky than to be good." She paused as she pulled a card out of her hand to play. "But I think it's better to be the best!"

"Enough! Make your move already!"

"As you wish. First, I will use Monster Reborn to bring back my Dark Magician Girl. Then I will activate Anti-Spell Fragrance, keeping you from playing any trap cards. And finally, I will use the magic card Change of Heart, which gives me the ability to take control of one of your monsters."

"Nooo!"

"I call the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon to my side of the field. Using the special effect of my Dark Magician Girl, your dragon and my monster combine in automatic fusion, increasing the power of both. Combined, their total attack points become 8000. Now, Dragon Tamer, attack his life points and end this duel!" Seto scowled, but said nothing, simply standing his ground as the powerful attack wiped out the last of his life points, giving Kira the victory.

As all of four of them stepped down, Kaiba handed her one of his three Blue Eyes White Dragon Cards. Kira was surprised that she didn't have to ask him for it.

"A deal is a deal. You won, this time," he explained, the threat evident in his voice. He was already forming a plan to recover the card. She wouldn't have it for long if he had his way. And Kaiba always got his way.

* * *

Kaiba just gave the card to her, but be assured he has a plan to get it back, Kaiba-style. Please review!  



	9. A Difficult Night

Seto could not rest that night. Mokuba was sleeping, and although it was only about eight in the evening, the young CEO knew that it was going to be a long night. His mind was on overload thinking about all that had happened during the day. Meeting Kira, dueling Pegasus, dueling her . . . and losing. He promised himself when he was younger that he would own a real Blue Eyes White Dragon Card. He managed to find all four, destroying the fourth, so that he owned the only BEWD cards in existence. Until now . . . Seto was exhausted, but he had too much to figure out before he could sleep. Then an idea occurred to him. He had been to worn out from his duel with her father to be his best in his battle with Kira, and that was the reason that she had defeated him_. That's a lie and you know it._ But perhaps it was enough – enough to get his card back. Or there was always the alternative – force. Seto pulled out his phone while starting to search for possible blackmail material on his computer.

"Roland, I need you here right away."

- - - - - - - - -

Nearly two hours later, Mokuba came running into his older brother's study with a terrified look on his face. "Seto! Seto!"

"What is it, Mokuba?" Seto asked, his concern showing on his face. "Did you have another nightmare?"

"Well, yes, I mean, no," Mokuba bit his lip. "I guess it was a dream, but it seemed so real, big brother!" Seto shook his head.

"You know dreams aren't real, Mokuba. They're just . . ."

"But, Seto, I think Kira's in trouble!" The young boy was extremely frightened.

"What?" _But how could he know . . . It must be a coincidence._

"C'mon! You've got to help!"

"Get a grip, Mokuba. It was a dream, nothing more. Now please, go to bed." Seto realized how harsh his words had to sound to the twelve-year-old, but he was tired. But Mokuba didn't leave. He timidly stood in the doorway and took a deep breath before speaking.

"Seto, you didn't do anything . . ." Seto looked down, for once embarrassed. "How could you?" The CEO glared at his younger brother. Mokuba never disagreed with him, never told him he was wrong. Seto walked over to him and grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Listen, brother," The younger Kaiba flinched at the name. "Do you know how long I worked to get those cards? Do you have any idea what it took? No, you don't, and you can't possibly understand."

"Seto, let me go! You're the one who doesn't understand!" His older brother released him roughly.

"Go to bed NOW!" He ordered.

"Maybe I don't want to." Mokuba said spitefully. "But you should know something, Seto. When I was back in that dungeon at Pegasus Castle, when you weren't there to help me, she did. She gave her share of food. That's why they moved her, Seto. Did you know that? Did she tell you?" Mokuba turned and stomped out of the room. His older brother could hear him all the way down the hallway. _Now my brother's mad at me too! What am I doing? _Seto tried, but he could not shake the image of his brother's disappointed face from his mind. He took his phone back out.

"Roland, call off . . . what in the world happened to you?" Two of his employees walked in, one limping, the other holding his right arm and wincing in pain. Seto forgot all about his reason for calling his second in command. "That was not meant to be a difficult task! I suppose she beat both of you up at the same time?"

"Well, kinda," answered the first.

"But not really," interjected the second suited man. "I mean, we had her, then all of the sudden there was this flash of light, and then this dragon-looking thing attacked us!"

"It had claws and wings and everything!" added the first man. Seto rubbed his head in frustration.

"INCOMPETENT FOOLS! Where do I find such crazy people? You're fired, both of you!"

"But Mr. Kaiba! My family . . . I . . ."

"No buts!"

"We're telling the truth, sir!"

"Get out now!" Seto fairly growled his last command with a strength that sent the two grown men running terrified from the room. He would have to take care of this personally.


	10. The New Student

Okay, this is probably horrible of me to say, but this chapter is definitely one of my favorites. And while it may not seem like a happy chapter . . . well, please be aware that I am posting this on Valentine's Day (hint, hint).

Alright, now you can read. Enjoy!

* * *

Kaiba stormed into his first class more than fifteen minutes late. It made no difference that he was late – the teacher was also late, and Kaiba never got in trouble for being tardy to class. "Mr. Sunshine seems especially cheerful today," Tristan commented to his friend, Joey. The blond snorted in response.

"His housekeeper probably shrunk his pants," he offered.

"I don't have a housekeeper, mutt," Seto growled as he slumped down in a chair in the very back of the room. He was in no mood to put up with Wheeler's antics.

"Ahh!" Joey jumped back away from him. "Grumpy, too."

"Get a life, Wheeler," the older student muttered. Joey stood and moved toward Kaiba with his hand in a fist.

"Why don't you say that to my face, smart mouth?"

"I think I just did, mutt." Joey was just about to hit him when Tristan grabbed him by the shoulder and shoved him back into his seat.

"Chill, man. You wanna get killed?" Tristan warned. Joey frowned and grumbled back at him.

"I coulda taken 'im!"

"Sure, you could have." Tristan chuckled.

"I heard she got kicked out of her old school," one student whispered to his neighbor on the other side of the room.

"The new girl? I head that she plays Duel Monsters," the second boy replied. A short girl behind them interrupted their conversation.

"Yeah, well I heard she used to be one of those Rare Hunters!" she exclaimed loudly, trying to impress them.

"Yeah, right, Ashley. A girl being a Rare Hunter? Pu-leeeese!"

"Well, that's what I heard." Ashley sat back in her chair as she folded her arms, pouting. Kaiba was trying to ignore all of the noise that threatened to break his concentration on the data moving across his laptop screen. He glanced over at the trio in the corner when he heard the words "Rare Hunters" and shot them a wary glance. _If one more person says 'Duel Monsters' . ._ . Just then two girls came in the room giggling, hiding behind their notebooks.

"And then he told me that this new girl was coming to our school!"

"Get this – Eric told me that she kicked Kaiba's butt in Duel Monsters!"

"No way! She beat _the _Seto Kaiba?_ Shut up_!" Seto slammed the top of his laptop down in anger. The new girl . . . but it couldn't be . . . He took out a book from his computer bag and forced himself to start reading as the professor entered, followed by the new student the entire school had been talking about.

When she walked into the room, all eyes looked up. Except for Kaiba, who remained stretched out in his seat, immersed in his reading. _This class is such a waste._ History had to be the most pointless subject in education. In fact, school in general was a waste. Seto knew more than any other students at Domino High, likely more than any of his teachers. Gozabura had seen to that. The only reason he forced himself to go through this torture was Mokuba.

"Who's da new chick?" Joey whispered loudly enough for everyone in the room to hear. He apparently had been oblivious to all of the rumors that had been going around Domino High already that morning.

"Joey!" protested a girl with short brown hair.

"Wha-at? I'm just gonna go_ intraduce_ myself."

"Get in line," said Tristan. "I saw her first." He shoved Joey out of the way. The girl frowned. Kaiba finally looked up when the teacher set his papers down on the large desk in the front. _Only forty-five more minutes of this . . . .Oh, great. As if this day couldn't get any worse._ He had just seen who the new student was. _But now I can get my card back . . ._

"Class, I'd like you to meet our new student, Kirandra. She's originally from Domino, but she has spent the last several years in Egypt." The teacher motioned for Kira to take a seat. _Are there any left? Oh, one in the very back, just behind . . ._Her eyes slanted with realization, as she walked to take the desk directly behind Seto_. This should be fun . . ._

"We're going to have a long lecture today, so I hope that all of you are prepared to take a lot of notes. Ahh, Mr. Kaiba, so nice of you to grace us with your presence once again." After searching in vain through her bag, Kira leaned her head back against the wall. _Of all the things . . . How could I have forgotten to bring a pencil? Egyptian sand in my brain . . . _ Kaiba looked back at her and smirked. He then reached into his computer bag, pulling out two new-looking mechanical pencils. He held both of them up, then dropped one back in his bag, after making sure that she had seen. Then he turned back around to his notebook. He was going to make her time at Domino High as miserable as possible until he got his card back. She deserved worse for cheating and taking his Blue Eyes. Kira shook her head in disgust. _Grrr . . ._ The brown-haired boy in the chair next to her handed her a pencil with a crumpled piece of notebook paper. "Welcome to Domino," it said in barely legible handwriting. "I'm Tristan Taylor. Want to take a ride on my motorcycle later?" Seto decided to get Kira's attention by sending her a note of his own. He crumpled the piece of paper and threw it over her head so that it landed in front of her. Kira caught it as it slid toward the edge of her desk. She looked back at Seto, but his face was buried in his book. Glancing back up at the front to make sure the teacher had not seen. Apparently someone was still mad. . ._He definitely does not take losing well_. Kira opened the crumpled paper and read the note. "Give back what's mine, or I tell everyone whose daughter you are." She smirked as she crumpled the paper back up and placed it quietly into her bag_. I wouldn't be here if I were going to let that bother me._ She heard Seto sit up in his chair as his feet slammed down on the floor. Another crumpled piece of paper landed on her desk. Kira shook her head slightly as she picked it up, then silently dropped it on the floor. She then stepped down on it hard, turning to make sure Kaiba had seen, then she began smashing it even further with her heel.

- - - - - - - - -

Kira walked into lunch alone, but she was soon noticed by Tristan and his friends whom she had met earlier. They motioned for her to join them, and knowing no one else there besides Seto, she decided to go. There was no way she could ignore their frantic waving anyway. Joey jumped up awkwardly and pulled out the empty chair next to him for Kira. She smiled at him as she sat down.

"Oh, how sweet! Thank you, Joey." The blond's face flushed red with embarrassment.

"It's nothing'."

"What, you do that for your girlfriend Mai, too?" teased Tristan, trying to put a damper on his friend's "progress" with the new student. Joey's face turned a brighter shade of red.

"She's not my girlfriend!"

"Guys!" Tea tried to stop Joey and Tristan from fighting. Kira looked slightly amused.

"Sorry," Joey apologized first.

"Yeah, you should be," Tristan remarked, brushing his hair. Tea shook her head, then turned to her spike-haired friend who was sitting next to Tristan on the opposite side of the table.

"You're rather quiet today, Yugi," she commented.

"What? Oh, sorry. Just thinking." Then he noticed Kira. "Umm . . . sorry, but I don't think we've been introduced."

"Oh, yeah!" Joey exclaimed. "Yug, this is Kira. Kira, this here is my best friend, Yugi."

"So you are the infamous Yugi Motou, the Duel Monsters champion." Yugi's eyes grew wider.

"You play Duel Monsters?" Kira shrugged.

"A little. Probably not up to your standard though."

"Aww . . . well, I couldn't do it without the support of my friends." The girl smiled in response. _I feel like I know him somehow . . ._ "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Kira." Yugi offered his hand, and as she took it, she was instantly transported to another place.

_"You cannot win! I am the pharaoh of Egypt and you are only a priest. I have all of the power!" The pharaoh, looking mysteriously like the boy she had just met, stood with his arms crossed, three large tablets of stone that had been carved with the figures of various creatures stood in front of him. His opponent across the dimly lit room was the exact likeness of Seto Kaiba._

_"I will defeat you, Pharaoh! It is time for change in Egypt, and it will start with me taking over now!" The young priest had only one stone tablet standing directly in front of him, but his eyes were lit with a fire that amazed Kira. Somehow she knew that he would not lose, he could not. She had the feeling that he had nothing left to lose in this critical duel. But beyond that consuming fire, she detected a sadness, a pain that made him seem almost less than human._

Kira shook her head. It was not the first time she had experienced a vision of the past that seemed to parallel the present. _I wonder if the others know . . . ._ She suddenly realized that she needed to get her books for her next class.

"I have to go," she told the group.

"See you later!" Tea exclaimed. Joey and Tristan waved, while Yugi sat there silently.

- - - - - - - - -

After lunch, Kira decided to stop at the drinking fountain to fill up her water bottle. On the way there she nearly ran into another student, a shy boy with white hair.

"Sorry about that!" He apologized as he bent down to pick up a few papers he had dropped.

"It's fine, don't worry about it," Kira replied. The boy smiled at her.

"You must be new. I'm Bakura." She froze when she heard his name, but then quickly recovered.

"My name is Kira, and yes, this is my first day. I need to get to class," she said rather hastily.

"Oh, okay, bye!" Kira walked hurriedly around the corner than stopped_. Bakura – the thief king? Come on, Kira, that was in the past . . _. She again shook her head and then remembered her original reason for being in the hallway and headed for the drinking fountain. Her water bottle was almost full when she heard a familiar voice complain from behind her.

"Does it take that long to get a drink of water?" Kaiba complained as he started pushing his way toward the fountain. "Kira!" he exclaimed with disgust when he saw who was holding up the line. By this time, a small crowd of students including Joey, Tristan, Tea, and Yugi, had gathered in the hallway to see what was going on. "Get out of my way."

"Fine." Kira responded simply, as she stepped back to allow him to move in front of the fountain. Seto looked at her strangely, then bent slightly over the fountain. He pushed the button on the front and sputtered in anger as he was suddenly sprayed with a burst of water from the fountain. Everyone froze, and the hallway was deathly silent as the students anticipated Kaiba's next action. Spinning around to face Kira, who was standing nearby, covering her mouth as she laughed, he opened his mouth to say something, then changed his mind and stomped away down the hall. Joey scratched his head as he watched him leave.

"Ehh . . . what just happened? Did I just see what I think I saw?" Tristan laughed.

"The new girl just made Kaiba look really stupid. Man, that's got to be one of the oldest tricks!"

"Come on, guys. Just because Kaiba's a jerk most of the time doesn't mean we should laugh at him. It's not right!" Tea complained.

"Tea's right," Yugi said while laughing. "It's . . . not . . . funny!"

"You guys are so immature," said Tea, leaving the crowd to go to her next class. The other students standing around clapped and cheered for Kira as Kaiba left, thinking the threat of violence from him was over. Then, a few at a time, they began to leave. Kira, on the other hand, was not quite finished tormenting the CEO.

"Hey, Kaiba!" She called out. "I think you're supposed to drink the water. Showers are in the locker room." Seto turned so quickly that the heels of his dress shoes clicked as he spun around again to glare at her.

"Do me a favor," he growled.

"Anything for you, Sunshine."

"Go jump off a bridge."

"If that's really what you want," she paused, smirking at him. "But you still won't have your card, _Exodia_."

"What did you just call me?"

"What, you didn't understand? Let me break it down more simply for you – I just said that you are a sorry jerk and a poor loser."

"Uh oh," Joey said to Tristan and Yugi, who had stayed with him because they greatly enjoyed seeing someone make a fool out of Kaiba. "This could be trouble. Kira, I'd be getting' outta here if I was you." He warned. She showed no sign of moving, and Kaiba was already virtually sprinting back down the hall toward her. The three friends moved to block his path to her. Joey and Tristan both grabbed one of his arms to hold him back when he came near enough while Yugi stood directly in front of him. Kaiba struggled against them as he looked back up at Kira. She stood only a few feet away from him, with that infuriating smirk on her face. Unable to take out his anger on her directly, he shoved Joey off of his right arm, flinging him toward the wall. Then he struck the opposite wall with all of his strength his fisted hand barely missing Tristan's face as it passed. Then he turned around and walked back down the hallway in the opposite direction. Behind him, he could hear Kira asking Joey if he was alright. She'd won again. But not forever. He would catch her alone, then she wouldn't be so lucky. _ I will get my card back._

_

* * *

_Okay, a few notes before you go off and review . . . ;)

1. I couldn't resist bringing in Joey, and I had fun trying to imitate his great accent. Unfortunately, I had to bring the rest of Yugi's gang in, but I think it turned out alright.

2. The whole "Exodia" thing was an inspiration from "Smallville" - Lois Lane calling Clark Kent "Smallville was just so amazing that I had to find a counterpart for Kira to call Kaiba.

Please let me know what you think of the chapter! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. And, Happy Valentine's Day!


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